


a rough kind of place; a good kind of place

by janellewrites



Category: Black Lightning (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 06:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13405395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janellewrites/pseuds/janellewrites
Summary: A very tiny drabble that delves a bit deeper into the moments before Anissa and Jennifer fall asleep at the end of the pilot.





	a rough kind of place; a good kind of place

**Author's Note:**

  * For [youngerdrgrey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/youngerdrgrey/gifts).



_“Anissa…”_

 

The voice was small. Meek. Nothing like the voice that Anissa had come to expect from her baby sister.

 

_“... can I come in?”_

 

Anissa inhaled deeply for what felt like the first time in hours, pulling her upper body up in bed so that her weight rested against her elbows. Her mind was chock full of the events from the past forty-eight hours, thoughts spiraling. So _much_ had happened.

 

At first Anissa couldn't understand why Jennifer would be shuffling around outside her bedroom door. Wasn't _at all_ like her. Usually Jennifer preferred to be holed up in her own room, flicking between every social media profile known to man on her iPhone and taking last-minute selfies before it was time to wash her makeup off. But shit… the girl _had_ nearly been killedthat night.

 

And Anissa had nearly been killed, too.

 

Both she and Jennifer had been tested unlike ever before - and having grown up in Freeland, that meant something, you know? - so, yeah, on second thought maybe it actually made _perfect_ sense that Jen would be up whisper-yelling from outside the bedroom door. Maybe she could understand why her little Jen didn’t want to be down on the far end of the hall where her bedroom was located, alone.

 

“Yeah... Yeah, come in.”

 

The bedroom door was pushed open quietly and as Jennifer slipped through it with socked feet, a sloppy bun and watery pink eyes, Anissa hoped that her own quick sniffles and sneaky swipes against the moist and puffy skin beneath her eyes would go unnoticed.

 

“Was just checking on you,” Jennifer said, rounding the bed and trying to act nonchalant as she slid in beside Anissa. The gesture made Anissa chuckle despite herself. It was obvious that Jennifer was coming in search of comfort but if pretending otherwise made her feel better, then maybe it was a big sister’s duty to play along.

 

“I’m good." Anissa raised an eyebrow. "You good?” 

 

“Psht." Jennifer scoffed. “ _All_ good. Just a regular Friday night far as I see it.”

 

Anissa turned her head towards her sister and the two of them locked eyes, no more than three seconds passing before they were both laughing - deep, rich belly laughs that echoed through Anissa’s bedroom and started to pull down tears that they’d both been forcing themselves to keep at bay.

 

Anissa was thankful for it - for the chance to have a lighthearted moment with her sister in a safe space, Jen’s cheek against Anissa’s collarbone and Anissa’s arm around Jen’s shoulders. Right then and there in her childhood home, with the night light from when she was little glowing in the corner and both her father and mother holding court downstairs, Anissa allowed herself to feel safe. Safe in her home and safe in the city where she'd lived all her life.

 

Sure, Freeland could be a rough kind of place at it’s worst. The kind of place where star athletes could be targeted by gang bangers and med students could be arrested just for doing what was right and model fathers could be slammed up against cop car hoods for no fucking reason at all… But it could be a good kind of place, too.

 

The kind of place where two sisters could grow up happy in a house filled up with good memories from the floor to the rafters… Where there were young ones to educate and good people to stand up for and a hero that sparked lightning to watch over them...

 

As the two girls’ laughter died, replaced only by the quiet whistling of her father’s teapot downstairs and the faintest sound of a train’s horn in the distance, Anissa gave her sister a kiss on the cheek, rolling her eyes when Jennifer pretended to dodge the advance and settling back into bed. Jennifer settled alongside her, the two girls making themselves comfortable and pulling the comforter up over their heads the way they used to do when Jen was a toddler afraid of her own shadow and Anissa would pacify the girl with stories of their very own impenetrable blanket forcefield and how nothing could get to them as long as they tucked themselves beneath the covers real tight… Both in the past and in the present, Anissa was coming to see the same lesson - that _she_ had the power to protect people from the bad.

 

When Anissa heard Jennifer speak again, it was in a light and airy voice and Anissa knew that the younger girl was just breaths away from falling asleep.

 

“You don’t have to worry, Nissa,” Jen said matter of factly. “Me, you… Mama, Daddy… We gon’ always be alright.”

 

The statement was simple. Straight forward hope. Anissa could feel more tears pressing against the back of her closed eyelids as she inhaled deeply and pressed herself deeper into the soft mattress beside her baby sister. 

 

“That’s right,” Anissa nodded in agreement. There was enough good left in Freeland to make Anissa sure of her sister’s words. So much good left to fight for; and that's _exactly_ what she planned to do.  "We gon' _always_ be alright."

**Author's Note:**

> First off, if you've read: THANK YOU. And second off, I really do hope that you'll join me in supporting Black Lightning every Tuesday night at 8/9c on The CW. I feel privileged to be able to watch such an awesome show chocked full of black excellence and I hope it has many, many seasons ahead of it!


End file.
